Unusual Items on Standard Sets

Item diversity in NU lately has increased a lot. All kinds of items are used on different Pokemon. For example, Garbodor used to only use Leftovers; now, it uses Black Sludge, Air Balloon, Rocky Helmet, and Focus Sash often. Type resisting berries, gems, and type plates have all started to become more popular as well. Lots of people are starting to use Colbur Berry Stealth Rock Golurk as an example. I've also heard of people using stuff such as Yache Berry Cacturne for certain random Hidden Power Ice.

Share some unusual items you've been using on standard sets. Note: it has to be effective and have noticeable utility on said set. Also, if the item totally changes the set in some way, it probably belongs here.

I'll share something I've been using the past two days that's pretty cool:


Butterfree @ Insect Plate
Trait: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Bug Buzz
- Substitute

A middle ground of sorts between extra power and durability. Butterfree can easily afford to go mono-attacking thanks to Tinted Lens, as a lot of you know already. Since you're only using one attacking move, you can afford to use an item that only boosts said attacking move. The 10% recoil from Life Orb is really deadly for Butterfree and is terrible in tandem with Substitute. One notable KO off the top of my head that you can get with Insect Plate is a guaranteed OHKO on Musharna at +1 after Stealth Rock. Overall, I'd say Leftovers is a bit better because it allows Butterfree to create more Substitutes, but Insect Plate is a pretty interesting option. Bug Gem might be another item worth consideration for late-game sweeping past certain durable walls.

Samurott @ Mystic Water
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Megahorn
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall

Mystic Water Samurott can hit hard with Waterfall and Aqua Jet while still being much more durable than the Life Orb set. This is extremely beneifical when Samurott is in Torrent range since it stops the opponent from switching around with resistances and stalling Samurott out. Megahorn doesn't really need a boost since it usually either OHKO's the opponent or falls short anyways.


Skuntank @ Air Balloon
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crunch / Taunt
- Poison Jab
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch

This Skuntank is a great switch-in to Golurk since it can survive anything it tries to use. Air Balloon allows Skuntank to have no weaknesses, which makes it great against offensive teams due to its ability to survive most neutral hits.

So anyone who knows me and my teams knows that I LOVE using Rocky Helmet Regirock over the standard Lefties set. I think it has some definite advantages over Leftovers, #1 being the ability to get residual damage (16%....I think xD) on things like Zangoose and Cinccino. That extra damage makes them so much easier to handle and it means that its harder for the opponent to spam Facade and Tail Slap respectively letting you switch around a little easier. #2 being that Drain Punch helps recover some of your health back meaning that you can keep taking hits and keep making the opponent take more damage. Especially when you start adding SR and Spikes into the equation, that damage really starts adding up. Most of the times Lefties is probably preferable but if your team really struggles with Cinccino and Zangoose than this set will really help you.

This set comes with an MMF guarantee of excellence.

Regirock @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Drain Punch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch / Thunder Wave

Lots of people are starting to use Colbur Berry Stealth Rock Golurk as an example. I've also heard of people using stuff such as Yache Berry Cacturne for certain random Hidden Power Ice.

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I take credit for these mons so I guess I'll post these sets.


Golurk @ Colbur Berry
Trait: Iron Fist / No Guard
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Punch / Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Drain Punch / Ice Punch / DynamicPunch

Colbur Berry is a great item on Golurk for a couple of reasons. First off, it lets Golurk live any Dark-type attacks from the likes of Absol and Skuntank. These checks that would normally KO Golurk are now KOd by Golurk. This allows other teammates that usually fear these Pokemon such as Musharna to reign free. It also makes Golurk a better Zangoose check as it takes less than 50% from Night Slash with the Colbur Berry. Shadow Punch, Earthquake, and Drain Punch or Ice Punch should be used with Iron Fist. If you want to go for trollyness and to potentially stop hazards, Ice Punch and DynamicPunch can replace Shadow Punch and Drain Punch, respectively. Golurk also makes a great offensive Stealth Rocker as it can also spinblock at the same time. Colbur Berry also fakes Choice Band sets very well so you can catch Probopasses and Misdreavuses off guard.


Cacturne @ Yache Berry
Trait: Sand Veil / Water Absorb
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spikes
- Sucker Punch
- Bullet Seed / Seed Bomb
- Encore / Substitute

Yache Berry Cacturne is...quite interesting. Grass-types are always plagued by the fact that they are weak to Ice-type attacks such as Ice Beam that almost every Water-type has. With a Yache Berry, Cacturne is more than capable of taking an Ice-type attack allowing to either get another Sucker Punch off or another layer of Spikes. Water Absorb can also be used to make Cacturne a much better check to Water-types. Yache Berry is used because Leftovers honestly doesn't help Cacturne much as it is frail and won't even like taking resisted hits such as Golem's Earthquake well. Yache Berry allows it to make the best of its typing and is a great check to Rain teams. Cacturne can also take random HP Ices from some Electric-types much better because of the Yache Berry. The EV Spread allows Cacturne to outspeed max speed Golems while giving it enough bulk to live a +2 Ice Beam (Timid White Herb) from Gorebyss most of the time iirc.

Items like berries and gems are probably more suited to one's specific team instead of an all-around item, but they are still viable and I'd recommend people to try them out. (Credit to user ebeast for inspiring me to use random berries. BERRY MAN v2 LGI) :)

^ I use Focus Sash on Cacturne from the above set.

Like you said, it's very frail so most items besides focus sash aren't very useful.

Focus sash makes it a very good lead. It guarantees you one layer of spikes and since you are faster then most Stealth rock leads, you can proceed to encore anyone who decides to set up rocks while you proceed to potentially set up all 3 layers of spikes then finish off anyone faster with a strong sucker punch.

The only thing that will stops your sash is unlucky status from burns and poison or multi hit moves, although Cincinno usually leads off with U-turn for the 4 times super effective hit and expecting to OHKO you since they don't expect the sash.



Floatzel @ Flame Orb
Ability: Water Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Switcheroo
- Ice Punch
- Return / Aqua Jet

With B&W2 Move Tutors. Floatzel can now use Switcheroo together with Ice punch. This is used to feint a choice band set as your opponent will notice there is no life orb recoil, if you play smart you can lure in a physical threat or an eviolite user and cripple them with burn to steal their precious item.

I'm a huge fan of items like plates on standard sets and have experimented a lot with them. They just suit my battling style much better than Life Orb and, to a lesser extent, Choice items. I posted back in Jan about using Sea Incense Samurott:

elchupo said:

I've been running a bulky SD Samurott spread with max HP and no Spe. Base 70 is just too slow to try and outspeed anything so its better to augment his naturally good (but not great) bulk.

I run SD/ Waterfall/ Megahorn/ Aqua Jet with Sea Incense. I know Sea Incense is technically a "bad" item but using LO seems counter productive to investing in bulk and doing so allows Samurott to get into, and stay in, Torrent range much easier. Torrent+SD+ Sea Incense= nuclear powered Waterfalls and Aqua Jets.

Very underrated 'mon. Its movepool is excellent as well, both on the special and physical side.

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Ludicolo can also use Water Plate/Expert Belt to great effect if you don't want Life Orb to detract from his bulk. On the RD set you can minimally invest in Spe so that he outspeeds everything in the tier under rain (requires very few EV's to do this) and put the rest in HP and SpA and watch as it SIMPLY REFUSES. TO. DIE.

Ludicolo @ Expert Belt
Modest
188 HP|252 SpA| 64 Spe
-Rain Dance
-Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam

Enough Spe to outrun Jolly Swellow. If you're worried about a particular scarfer, run more to EV's to beat it. Nuke stuff.

I've been running this set since the very beggining of bw2 really, does great. I know I'm not the only one to use it, WhiteDMist has also told me he used it with success.


Carracosta (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Stealth Rock


Rocky helmet works pretty well on rock types in general because of there big defence, thier resistances that often leads to a switch-in on a contact move and since people often try to kill it off with fighting moves. Carracosta uses it even better than the other rock mons because of solid rock and access to aqua jet. Solid Rock means carracosta is one of the few rock types to actualy have the capacity to tank certan fighting moves such as cb braviary' superpower. Rocky helmet makes pretty massive damage for an item (1/6 of max hp !), and taking 2 hits instead of one can make a huge difference on how the game will turn out. Carracosta also has access to a priority move in the form of aqua jet. With max attack investment, the big turtle can add up to the damage it deals with rocky helmet to take down some of the most threatening things out there (let's not forget superpower and close combat come with a defence drop). Aqua jet being a stab water move also hits hard ground types that will just EQ carracosta without touching it's helmet.

This carracosta works extremly well to take down stuff like zangoose and braviary before they make huge holes in your team. (It might cost you costa's life though)



There's another item I'd like to put to the light, even though I have no particular pokemon to suggest it with, I think I can describe what kind of pokemon it helps. That item is the quick claw.

Unlike in other gens, quick claw has a 20% chance of making you attack first (instead of 10%). Using it may be completely relying on hax, but hey why do people use scald over surf ? 20% chance is decent enough to let some slow pokemon shine a bit more. The awesome thing about the quick claw is that it's never ever ever expected. The item doesn't fit every slow pokemon however, keep those lefties on amoonguss, a priority giga drain has very few chances of being game changing. Quick claw mostly fits the slow hard hitters, stuff like gigalith, relicanth, torterra and others. These pokemon usualy stay around long enough to abuse the 20% chance to it's maximum and hit so freaking hard, it's nearly sure you're making a difference with that priority head smash eq or whatever attack you're using.

Personaly, I wouldn't be using quick claw on something that already has priority because you could be using another item better, I also wouldn't use it on things that use encore and maybe healing moves, because attacking first could ruin your own predictions. Recovery could still help you stay around even longer to prey for that claw to activate at a crucial time (and who know's it could save your life when you were about to sac that poke). Same for volt switch on ampharos and eelektross, it might not give you that needed momentum if you attack first.

@ Choice Band
Trait: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Frustration / Double Edge
- Crunch / Zen Headbutt

The epitome of a glass cannon. Hustle Raticate usually runs LO because of Raticates decent movepool and most people think he needs the ability to freely switch. While Raticate isn't a 100% top tier pick he does have a strong niche if you want a good hit and run poke that isn't weak to rocks. I don't think LO is a good choice because you really don't want to be taking that recoil damage coupled with any other residual damage you may take. CB beats out LO IMO because of the extra damage and the mind set of CB over LO is superior for a glass cannon like Raticate. You don't want to sit in the battle and just throw out attacks. You want a sure KO, then switch out to the according poke.

Obviously the reduced accuracy from Hustle can be a bit annoying, turning 100% accuracy moves to 80% (which is why I recommend Crunch over Zen Headbutt, regardless of coverage.) I really haven't had any misses that were resulted in me losing, but that may be because I've only had 30~ or so games with this set.

All in all, its strong and efficient. Base 97 speed is pretty trolly and spits in the face of those 95s. I do run Jolly because you want as much speed as you can get. CB and Hustle boost your Atk plenty enough.

Cinccino (F) @ King's Rock / Silk Scarf
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Tail Slap
- Rock Blast
- Bullet Seed / Return
- U-turn / Wake-Up Slap

Cinccino with the moves is really standard but you can change the item, with this items Cinccino seems a choice standard set but with the King Rock has chance of flinch while with Silk Scarf for more powerful with the STAB moves, Return is a decent option if you are using Silk Scarf. Also, the moves of Cinccino has really a good coverage.

I've used King's Rock on Cincinno before. It effectively gives him a 50% chance to flinch with every attack, which is just epic when it works. More people should use it.

I wouldn't use kings rock on cinncino, because it's completely relying on hax. While this may seem ironic because I just suggested using quick claw on bulky hard hitters, bulky hard hitters are bulky! Cinncino is generaly used when you know you will kill off your opponent or that opponent really can't do anything to you because cinncy is not living a hit of anything. Using life orb increases your range of things you can ohko or 2hko on the switch and seems much more useful and reliable to me.

@Elgy96

Also, I haven't had any probability classes in my life, but I'm pretty sure you can't just add up 10% 5 times like that. I believe you have to take the probablities one by one like this:

100%-10%=90%, 90%-10%x90=81%, 81%-10%x81=72,9% etc... 5x

(my reasoning is 90% chance not to flinch on first hit, if he hasn't flinched yet, then he has 10% chance of what's remaining to flinch on the next hit, not 10% chance of 100%)

This should give you the probablilites for a pokemon not to flinch when attacked by a 5 hit move. In the end you should have about 41% chance of having your opponent flinch.

If you have been around on IRC, you probably know about this set already. Nevertheless, I will share it with you all as I personally enjoy the unusual item more than the mainstream item on this set.


Golem @ Ground Gem
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Sucker Punch

I never ran any specific calculations or anything before I used Ground Gem on Golem -- I just did it. I recall using Rock Gem Golem a while back which while pretty good, did not come in handy in that many situations and I went back to using Leftovers as an item. I enjoy using gems on Pokemon like Golem who are not on the field for very long. It is very shocking to some opponents and the item usually accomplishes more than whatever other item would accomplish.

Anyways, Ground Gem Earthquake hurts. I have not done many calculations, but so far from my playing, there have been a few times where the boosted Earthquake saved my ass. For example, I KO'd a Rain Dance Ludicolo with Ground Gem Earthquake + Sucker Punch. Other notable KO's was Samurott with the same combination and Regirock with two consecutive Earthquake's. Ground Gem gives Golem's Earthquake the extra kick it needs to make Golem even more threatening.

I recommend using Ground Gem over whatever item you use on Golem currently. Golem in general is a pretty interesting Pokemon when it comes to items: there are a lot of items Golem can use effectively. The variety you see in Golem does not come from the set, as it is nearly always the set above, but it comes from the EV spread and items.

Well, I've seen this set once, and I loved it. I used it for a while, but then dropped it because I hate the Pokemon. But the set is great.


Ninjask (M) @ Starf Berry
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass

It's basically the standard set, but with a little Item twist. By spamming Substitute, you can rack up many Speed Boosts. Carefully analyzing the opponent's team could lead you to notice that it's a bit weaker on the Special side. Sad thing is, Ninjask can't learn Nasty Plot. Who cares? He can perfectly use a Starf Berry to pass on SAtk boosts as well. Most people don't expect this, and end of getting swept by the Special sweeper. This works awfully well with mixed attackers. I've been trying him with Mixed Seviper, and it's hilarious to sweep people with him.

I don't think that Focus Sash is really worth it. If you sense a dangerous move incoming, you can just use Protect, and then Baton Pass next turn. Just my opinion.

@Liechi Berry/Salac Berry
Water Veil
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252HP/4Atk/252Speed
-Baton Pass
-Bulk Up
-Waterfall
-Toxic

BU Passing is rarely done this days, and Floatzel is still one of the more reliable ways of doing it, thanks to his speed and immunity to burns, while Toxic gives him something to screw Alomomola and Ludicolo over. The most interesting option is to use a pinch berry - if Floatzel gets off a single BU, he's either passing on +2 Atk/+1 Def, or +1 Atk/Def/Speed, and if you get off more than one Bulk Up it's even better. I like to use him with Liechi SmashCarracosta, but other possible options are Pokemon that appreciate the ability to forego a boost and hit hard right off the bat or to make them even stronger. Floatzel has the option to run AgilityLiechi, AgilitySalac or even BulkUpPetaya for mixed sweepers, but the former are generally outclassed by Ninjask.

JirachiCelebiMew said:

Well, I've seen this set once, and I loved it. I used it for a while, but then dropped it because I hate the Pokemon. But the set is great.

Ninjask (M) @ Starf Berry
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass

It's basically the standard set, but with a little Item twist. By spamming Substitute, you can rack up many Speed Boosts. Carefully analyzing the opponent's team could lead you to notice that it's a bit weaker on the Special side. Sad thing is, Ninjask can't learn Nasty Plot. Who cares? He can perfectly use a Starf Berry to pass on SAtk boosts as well. Most people don't expect this, and end of getting swept by the Special sweeper. This works awfully well with mixed attackers. I've been trying him with Mixed Seviper, and it's hilarious to sweep people with him.

I don't think that Focus Sash is really worth it. If you sense a dangerous move incoming, you can just use Protect, and then Baton Pass next turn. Just my opinion.

Click to expand...

Thats the wrong berry....

From the smogon pages:

If the holder's HP hits or falls below 25%, this Berry will raise one of the holder's stats at random by two stages. Consumed after use. Natural Gift becomes an 80 Base Power Psychic-type attack when the user holds this Berry, but the Berry is consumed after use.

Click to expand...

What you're looking for is the Petaya Berry.

Actually, my description was pretty unspecific. I didn't mean Petaya Berry, actually, I did mean Starf. I wanted Starf to add one more boost, to whatever. It does work, though. But Petaya could work too, nice idea. My bad, I will be more specific next time.

Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Drain Punch
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch

The standard Kangaskhan set but with a Silk Scarf instead of Life Orb. Seeing as many people tend to switch into something that can take a Fake Out(and sometimes other moves) really well, it is just a waste to have 10% of your HP deducted whenever you use it. That is where the Silk Scarf comes into play.

Although you have less power when you use Silk Scarf compared to Life Orb, the fact that you don't lose 10% of your HP every move is good enough reason to use it. With a Silk Scarf, you will deal almost the same amount of damage and your longevity will be prolonged.

Starf Berry is actually pretty interesting because it can raise any given stat to +2. However, there are two issues with it. One, because there is random chance involved, there will inevitably be times where you get a sub-optimal boost. When the opponent sees you get a boost in a particular stat, they can infer that you would Baton Pass to a Pokemon that would be able to take advantage of that boost, and then act accordingly. Two, you lose Leftovers. Leftovers is very useful for giving Ninjask free Speed boosts. It can make more than just five Substitute's with Leftovers. That allows Ninjask to come in later if the pass is not successful and potentially Baton Pass to another Pokemon. The recovery from Leftovers is especially important when you factor in Stealth Rock into the equation.

Edit:

Buddhism, that is actually the Kangaskhan set I use now, except with Adamant > Jolly because you do not particularly need the extra Speed. It's pretty effective and makes it much easier to use Fake Out over and over again. Kangaskhan gets worn down pretty easily from switching in and out and taking Life Orb recoil.

While I'm talking about Kangaskhan, I recommend trying the same spread, except with more HP EVs. Kangaskhan is bulky enough to withstand numerous attacks and recover back with Drain Punch. You could maybe even use Leftovers on Silk Scarf on this Kangaskhan set, but you would be noticeably weaker.

DTC, you are right, but the point of this thread is to discuss unusual Items on a standard set, thus the name, and Leftovers is the most common Item for Ninjask. Of course, all your points are correct, but I think that Starf Berry deserves a chance. The idea of Petaya Berry isn't half bad, though.

Braviary @ Sharp Beak / Fighting Gem
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Return / Roost
- U-Turn

Braviary is no stranger to using Choice items; in fact, that's all it ever did back in BW1. This set exploits any preconceptions the opponent might have, bluffing a Choice set very effectively when using either Brave Bird or U-Turn. However, the crucial difference is that, if Probopass or Bastiodon switch in after Braviary secures a kill with a STAB move, they will take a Superpower to the face and be removed from the game if entry hazards are up. Sharp Beak is the primary option as it gives Braviary more power to maintain the Choice Band illusion more easily, although Silk Scarf can be used instead if you want to hit Electric types harder. Fighting Gem, on the other hand, lets Braviary deal a more devestating blow to Regirock and Golem, who may even be outright KO'd depending on residual damage, and whether they switch into a STAB attack first. As Braviary isn't locked into attacks, Roost can also be used to maintain longevity if desired.

It's funny, as I used Flying Plate and Flying Gem on SubBU Braviary. It works wonders, and you have Roost for recovery anyways :P

Braviary @ Sky Plate
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SDef / 80 Spd
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Roost
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird

Well, it's the basic SubBU set with Sky Plate. It allows you to hit harder, while still having some reliable recovery with Roost.

Speaking of alternate items for Braviary, what about Salac Berry on SubBU? I'm currently on my phone, so I can't test\post a set until I get home, but if anyone wants to try \ has already tried this, I would love to hear about it.

I'm not too sure about those alternate items being brought up for SubBU Braviary. Even though it does have recovery in Roost, the 6% from Leftovers is very important when trying to keep Braviary's health as high as possible to prevent yourself from being forced to Roost too much. Leftovers is especially valuable in this Hail metagame to prevent Braviary from being worn down as fast by Stealth Rock and Hail. Sky Plate, Flying Gem, and Salac Berry really don't fit SubBU Braviary's playing style; why do you need a boosting item on a slow, bulky, set up Pokemon. The immediate power could come in handy in some situations, but you should just be boosting up with Bulk Up if you want the power. Salac Berry on SubBU falls under the same category that it just doesn't fit on a slow, bulky set. The standard 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe spread doesn't benefit much from the +1 Speed boost anyways, only hitting 300 Speed and the faster 80 Spe set still only hits 324 Speed. Any more Speed investment will just be making waste of Braviary's bulk, which is what SubBU should trying to abuse to the fullest.

Salac Berry could be interesting on a more offensive Bulk Up set and I might try something similar later. I was thinking something along the lines of:

Braviary @ Salac Berry
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Superpower

What I would hope this set is capable of doing when I test it is to offer a set capable of providing offensive presence, decent bulk, and sweeping potential all at the same time. I would spam Brave Bird and Superpower, heal with Roost when needed, and boost up with Bulk Up when given the chance. Once Braviary gets low enough to activate its Salac Berry it would hopefully have a Bulk Up or two to tear apart teams. Thanks to the defense boosts from BU and Roost it wouldn't have to worry about priority as much as other set up Pokemon (especially other Pinch berry abusers) once it's fully set up.